Further On Up The Road
by FrickFrackDotNerd
Summary: 20 years after the events of RWBY. Salem is defeated, and the members of team RWBY are scattered to the 4 corners of Remmnant. But when Ruby gets hurt, will they be able to come back together? Whiterose slow-burn, Bumblebee
1. Chapter 1

"So you see Mr. Ulrich, the dust shipments simply won't be able to be there any earlier than the 16th." She replied in as apologetic a voice she could muster which, if she was being honest with herself wasn't terribly convincing. She was winning, both her and Ulrich – the emissary from Mistral Power and Electric – knew it.

The man sitting opposite her crossed his meaty arms over his chest, "the sixteenth? But that's over a month from now, surely the famed efficiency of the SDC won't let us down?" Good, so he'd fallen into the trap, not that it was a terribly complex one. She frowned for show.

"Well, if you're in that desperate a need of the dust, then I'd be happy to move the delivery date up to, say… the third?" Ulrich visibly relaxed and she had to use every ounce of her composure to resist letting a smirk snake through her practiced mask.

"Yes, that can be arranged. It's a shame those employees will have to miss the Vytal Festival, but I'm sure the knowledge they'll be helping the good people of Mistral will ease the sting… along with a generous 15% increase." It was almost comical watching Ulrich's pudgy damp face morph from a self-satisfied grin to one of complete outrage.

"F-fifteen percent!? Woman are you out of your mind? How am I supposed to go back to my superiors with this deal, I can't very well accept this!" Weiss had to take a sip of her water to keep her mouth occupied so the giggle bubbling in her throat wouldn't slip through. It's not that she actually took enjoyment in how upset he was, it was just that she had intentionally low-balled him in the beginning of the meeting. Was Ulrich so cocky that he really thought she'd ship thousands of tons of dust across the globe for that paltry sum?

Before she had a chance to put her glass back down however Ulrich had recovered himself. Clearing his throat, The older man grumbled "Yes, can't very well go back with this at all… not a deal… highway rob-… yes Miss Schnee it's quite unfortunate but you leave us no choice but to take our business do Webber Dust and Energy."

Whatever enjoyment Weiss had gained from their verbal sparring evaporated. So this was his real play, everything up until then had been a formality. Could she keep this big fish on the line, and keep the kind of profit she'd been looking for? Was he bluffing? Yes, Webber was her biggest competitor and they could generally get their product to market faster. However the dust was of poorer quality resulting in the need for more frequent shipments, leading to a greater cost in the long-run. Not to mention they continued to employ faunus… laborers to help speed along the mining process. Such wage-slavery had long ago been abolished in the SDC, and the newly reformed White Fang had been running Webber out of business slowly but surely over the past 5 years. Only their dirt-cheap dust had kept anyone turning to the disgraced company. For Ulrich to even suggest that the government of Mistral would employ such monsters was… unthinkable! Disgusting! Inhuman!

Ulrich sat back in his seat with a broad grin.

Damn! Her anger must have registered on her face. What was it, a slight narrowing of the eyes? A tightening of the mouth? She was better than that, she should have controlled herself. Don't let her weaknesses get in the way of business. No matter, she was Weiss Schnee, CEO, huntress, war hero. She could salvage this she, just needed to relax, reassess, and regain control of the situation.

"I'm sure you'd strike an… amicable deal with Webber Dust but I can assure you that they'll be far less willing to work over the holiday than I am. After all we both know they don't need any more bad press…" His smile fell just a fraction of an inch, but Weiss celebrated internally. She'd scored a hit.

"That is true, and we do need the dust… however I can promise you we'll go no higher than an eight percent increase."

"Ten."

"Nine percent."

"Ten Mr. Ulrich." Weiss repeated, shooting him one of the famous Schnee glares, which had been known to freeze board members and politicians alike to the floor as assuredly as any of Weiss' glyphs. To his credit however, Ulrich didn't balk, merely sighed and uncrossed his arms.

"Very well Miss Schnee, a ten percent increase, and the dust will be delivered no later than the third of the month". Only now, basking in the glow of victory, did Weiss let a smile through.

"I will oversee the delivery myself Mr. Ulrich, and let me say on behalf of the entire company how pleased we are to be friends with the esteemed government of Mistral once again." He heaved another heavy sigh and muttered something that sounded like "hate to see how you treat your enemies" while standing up.

"Congratulations Miss Schnee. You know, the dubious moniker of "Ice Queen" truly does suit you, you really are one cool customer." She merely dipped her head, it's nothing she hadn't heard before and while the insult once stung, she now tried to envelop herself in it, and spent every day pretending it was true. Ice was solid, strong, nothing could hurt her. "May I ask you, how do you do it?"

"And what exactly is it that I do?"

He stared at her evenly for the first time since they've been together, and she had to resist the urge to fidget. "Remain so cold. Some say it's because you're already ten moves ahead of your competition, others say you just really don't care about your money, your company, or even…"

She cut him off with a wave of her hand. "It's a little of both I suppose," telling the truth surprised her, she wasn't terribly used to it these days "In my position it's better to be unattached, see the forest through the trees and all that." Luckily he seemed to accept the explanation and finally broke off his stare.

"Thank you for indulging me Miss Schnee. I'd best be on my way" He replied grabbing his hat and placing it securely on his head "I hope to have the pleasure of doing business with The Hero of Atlas again." And with the barest of nods he turned and walked his way off the luxurious patio they had been sitting on and was quickly lost amongst the thousands of other Atlesians enjoying a sunny afternoon.

The end of their conversation had been somewhat… jarring but Weiss wasn't going to let it ruin her victory. She smiled down at her half-eaten lunch and cheered internally. Finally! That contract had taken five months to negotiate and now she had it, plus she was charging six percent higher than any of the company's analysts had projected. She was on top of the world! With a deep sigh she let her shoulders relax a little bit. She felt like celebrating, and decided to order a piece of cake. Dust when was the last time she had cake?

An unwelcome memory quickly formed in her mind, of a cake collapsing in on itself, made out of filched field rations and served on a cracked dish, tired eyes smiling at her out of grubby faces all around her, silver eyes…

With a quick shake of her head she banished the memory. She didn't need that right now, today was a good day. She should be enjoying herself!

Or so she thought until she heard the scuff of a boot directly behind her. Her shoulders tensed and her breath hitched, her left hand extended, palm downward and a glyph opened on the ground as a gauntleded hand started to appear. With her right hand she reached for Myrtenaster, and as soon as she felt the smooth familiar pommel in her grasp turned on her heel ready to explode outward and rip open the belly of…

Blake. Cerulean eyes met amber as Weiss slowly tried to get her bearings. It was Blake, just Blake, not an attack, her friend, she wasn't in danger. Her hand slowly let go of the Myrtenaster and her glyph collapsed in on itself. She closed her eyes and breathed heavily through her mouth in and out for a few sconds, and when she opened them she was able to stand up straight and address Blake properly.

The faunus was wearing her old white duster but Weiss couldn't see the hilt of Gabol Shroud sticking above her shoulder. Her hands were up in a defenseless posture of surrender. So she wasn't armed, foolish. Her eyes swept over the cat ears peeking – unbound and unhidden –over her raven locks. She'd long ago become used to her friends inhuman traits. Finally Weiss met Blakes eyes. Which, while unafraid were surprised and wary. For a moment neither of them moved.

Weiss let out a sigh, and grabbed a fork instead of her sword and brandished it at the taller girl. "You keep sneaking up on me like that one of these days I really am going to stab you." Blake finally lowered her hands and let out a chuckle

"You're going to have to catch me first." Rolling her eyes, Weiss sat back down and motioned to the seat that Ulrich had vacated.

"Though I am surprised that the CEO of the biggest corporation in the world needs to walk around her own city with a weapon" Blake asked, taking the opposite chair. Weiss let out a laugh that was too high pitched and fast.

"Oh you know, it helps to keep up the whole "war hero" image. It works wonders for SDC's public face." Weiss lied.

"Mmm I don't doubt that." Blake hummed, while signaling to get the waiter's attention. Once Blake had been able to order her tea she turned back to the heiress "But what about your private life. How are you Weiss?"

She wasn't able to scoff this one off quite as easily. Her heart was still hammering in her throat and her eyes kept looking around for something to be wrong, anything. No matter how hard she looked she couldn't find the danger. Mentally, she told herself to calm down, to relax. It was Blake, Blake was here, Weiss was fine. She was safe. But she still couldn't manage to get her breathing under control and she kept seeing shadows in the corner of her vision. Each person that walked past made her jump a little bit. It was too crowded here she needed to-

No.

She was Weiss Schnee. CEO, huntress, war hero. She wasn't going to have a panic attack in the middle of downtown Atlas, she could get ahold of herself. She had to calm down.

"That good I see." Weiss jumped. She'd been so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn't seen Blake's tea arrive, hadn't noticed that her friend was staring at her. She clearly knew something was wrong. The faunus reached across the table and touched her hand. "Weiss you can talk to me, if you need someone to listen or… anything."

She politely shook her head "No, thank you Blake I'm fine. Just too much coffee today." That was the second lie she'd told her best friend. Second best friend in less than ten minutes. "I'm assuming you didn't come all the way from Menagerie just to have a cup of tea though." Blakes face grew grave and she placed her teacup back on the table.

"No I haven't you have to go see her Weiss."

"Who's "her"?" She asked, though she knew perfectly well who Blake meant, but she needed to hear that name again.

"Ruby." There it was. With a sharp inhale, Weiss prepared herself for what she had to say next. This really was turning into a long day. "She doesn't want to see me, doesn't need me. We've been over this Blake, ever since the war, since Salem, team RWBY just doesn't…" It hurt talking about it every time, no matter how long it's been it hurt to say the sentence out loud "Team RWBY doesn't work."

Blake closed her eyes and shook her head. "Weiss this is important."

"Why?"

The faunus took a deep breath before answering the question, "Because Ruby's in the hospital, and she's been asking for you."


	2. Chapter 2

Not 2 hours later they were on a plane headed to Vale. Weiss couldn't stop fidgeting in her seat. Ruby, she was going to see Ruby, she was going to see her partner again. Not that she was much of a partner anymore; she hadn't fought by Ruby's side in years. Her hands were shaking so bad that she could barely buckle her seatbelt when they'd boarded. Now, already 30,000 feet in the air she was no better. Her hands still shook, and her heart was racing and she couldn't stop thinking about silver eyes, red hair and the scent of roses…

NO!

She couldn't think about it, couldn't get lost in those memories now. Ruby was in the hospital, she might be dying, she needed Weiss to be strong because she…- "Blake," Weiss choked out, her voice hoarse and cracking in a way that made her wince. Weak, she was so weak. "why is Ruby in the hospital, you never told me."

Blake calmly put down her tea on the tiny tray table in front of her. They could have chartered one of Weiss' private jets, they'd tried in fact but the pilot had told them it would take at least 5 hours to prepare the plane for takeoff, and Weiss needed to be on her way to Vale now despite Blake's reassurances that Ruby was by no means in critical condition, and they could take all the time they needed. Ignoring the advice, Weiss had therefore booked 2 first-class tickets on a luxurious – though somewhat cramped for Weiss' taste – commercial jet.

"She" began the faunus, not meeting Weiss' eyes "was out on a mission, 3 deathstalkers had set up a nest close to a village, so I'm told."

"Mmm…" Weiss hummed contemplatively. Three was a lot, three was a hard fight, but since the war many of the huntsmen and huntresses around the world had become stronger than they ever could have imagined. For a good team of 4 seasoned hunters, a triad of deathstalkers shouldn't have been too overwhelming. "Who was her backup, CVFY? I know they decided to stick around Vale. Nora and Ren, maybe?"

Blake lowered her eyes even more, and her faunus ears dipped in a posture sickeningly familiar to Weiss. Bad news was on the way. Was that why the monsters were able to get to the crimson speedster, because they took out her backup first? Her heart wrenched. If more of Ruby's friends died in battle, then she might not be able to bounce back this time. She'd barely made it through the war; this would be too much… Weiss snapped that train of thought off, disgusted with herself. Her friends may have died and she was worried about Ruby's feelings, what kind of twisted person was she? She took a deep breath to steady herself and waited for Blake to list the names of the dead.

"That's the thing, there wasn't any backup."

Weiss had to grip the arms of the seat to keep from falling over as she reeled in her seat. No backup? Three deathstalkers and no backup? Why was she alone? Had nobody gone with her? Had the abandoned the hero of Vale to hunt those massive monsters, full of clacking claws and dripping venom all on her own?

Blake must have seen the fire flash in her eyes as she looked up and replied in a soft voice "She wanted to go alone. She took the hunt and didn't tell anyone until she was already on her way. When she got the text from Ruby, Yang almost tore down the school she was so mad."

"But she didn't go after her." Weiss snapped "Nobody went after her, she walked into the forest all alone and she almost didn't come back!" Blake quietly cleared her throat, causing Weiss to look around. As she'd been talking her voice had risen from a hushed undertone to a near-shriek, and she'd forgotten they weren't alone. The polite passengers were trying to stare nonchalantly over their magazines or out of the corner of their eyes, while the rude ones out-right glared.

Feeling her cheeks heat up Weiss muttered a quick apology before turning back to Blake who was finally meeting her gaze, but was looking at her with- "Stop that."

She hated when people pitied her. So many pitied them – the veterans – after the war, for what they lost, what they sacrificed along the way to victory. The last person she wanted to pity her was Blake, her best friend, her sister, one of the few who'd seen all that she'd seen.

"I'm sorry" the brunette responded, turning her face back towards her cup of tea. "You should know the rest. Ruby went out alone and was gone for 4 days. The next time anyone saw her she limped into a village on the outskirts of the forest. Her…" Blake took a shuddering breath and Weiss once again tried to steel herself. She was a soldier damn it, she'd seen the destruction of the battlefield she could handle it. She had to handle it "her arm was hanging at a bad angle, the tendon in her right shoulder was severed. She also had 3 broken ribs, a bad concussion and had lost a lot of blood. She'd pretty much been running on reserve aura for the past 12 hours as she tried to get away. But Weiss…" Blake trailed off before looking up at her friend once again.

What more? What else could there possibly be? How much punishment could such a small body take, hadn't she been through enough? Giving an imperceptible nod, the heiress indicated she should continue.

"She did it. She killed all 3, alone." Blake said with a tinge of awe in her voice. All 4 members of team RWBY were celebrities, heroes after the war and renowned for their skill in combat. Even still, Ruby Rose always stood above the other 3. She was their leader – The Red Reaper – and she'd been the one to lead every charge against Salem's army of grimm. She was the one that defeated the Fall Maiden the first time, and it was she who dealt the killing blow to the dark queen. Yes, Ruby was the champion of champions, but it had been years and years since she'd heard that kind of admiration from Blake. It made her sick.

"So," Weiss whispered, voice cold with rage and fingernails digging deep cuts into the meat of her palms "So you think that because she survived, that a half blind girl alone in a forest infested with monsters survived by the skin of her teeth that she's some sort of hero? That she's an untouchable force, fighting all the bad guys and saving the world?" she spit the worlds "hero" like it was a curse, and she could see Blake physically recoil from her reaction, and she was glad.

She was glad that she could frighten her friend and make her finally see reality. She never thought she'd need to force Blake to see the consequences of their profession. Huntresses weren't heroes, they were martyrs. They were sent out there not to kill the grimm, there were too many to stop, even with Salem dead they always kept coming. No, they were sent out there to satiate the grimm. They could keep the population at bay and away from the big settlements. And when the monsters grew too aggressive and overran the huntress? Ah well, it's the risk of their profession. One more empty casket to bury. The good people wouldn't bat an eye, they just moved on with their lives, erected cold marble statues to commemorate the flesh and blood lost to teeth and fangs, and promptly forgot about them.

There were no heroes, only sacrificial lambs.

"Weiss we know, we wanted to go with her to help her, but-"

"But the team doesn't work anymore. We've known that for a long time Blake, I know that." Weiss huffed, all her anger dissipating and leaving her exhausted. Exhausted with worry, fear, and just so tired of having to have this argument. "That damn woman just won't stop taking hunts." Blake hummed sympathetically and stared down into her now-empty cup.

They sat like that a long time, the 2 ex-huntresses, both exhausted and aged prematurely by their short, violent lives. They listened to the gentle thrum of the engine and tried to sleep. Weiss had been dozing for several minutes when Blake spoke again.

"We've tried to get her out of the field, Yang and I."

"I know."

"Both Yang and Oz offered her jobs at Beacon, and I tried to get her to work with me in Menagerie, as a liaison to the human population there."

"I heard" Weiss responded, without opening her eyes. "Who did you end up getting to fill the position, by the way?" Her question was met with a with a quiet giggle

"Neptune, if you can believe it." Weiss couldn't honestly, and felt a chuckle bubbling in her own chest.

"No to be honest, I can't."

"He's actually quite competent in the role. Luckily his… erm… "charm" has tempered a little bit since we were teenagers and he's a caring person deep down." Blake replied, a calm and contented smile on her face, the first one Weiss had seen since she'd appeared on the patio hours ago.

"That's good to hear." Weiss said, and smiled back "To be honest, I can't believe Yang became a teacher either. She barely passed her own classes when we were in school!" She meant it as a joke, but the smile instantly left Blake's face as if Weiss had slapped her. She felt terrible she hadn't meant to bring that up, it just seemed natural, talking about the old times… "Blake I'm sorry-"

"No don't, it's fine. You're right it doesn't seem like a natural fit but Ozcar says she's great with the kids." Weiss squirmed in her seat. What had been a pleasant way to catch up with an old friend suddenly turned into an awkward conversation dancing around a subject. Weiss decided to stop dancing, and just ask.

"So are you two still-"

"Stop, we're fine. We talk, we've even gotten dinner a few times over the years." It sent a jolt of pain through Weiss to know her teammates had been spending time without her, but it was also good to know that Blake and Yang were at least on speaking terms. "Honestly we're good. It's just… it's just going to be strange to have RWBY back together again."

Weiss sighed and leaned her head against her seat. "I know."


End file.
